Life After Deaths
by Pirae
Summary: LODI succeeds in crucifying Godric, killing him. The Texan vampires wage war on the Fellowship Of The Sun. Innocent stuff right now, will climb the ratings later.
1. Chapter 1

_Sookie ran shaking fingers through her hair, cursing herself for the rapid-fire pulse hammering away in her chest and arteries. She was sure her very pheromones emanated fear. Even though he never seemed to mean her harm, Eric's very presence always evoked this response from her. He had been very kind to her since Bill's death, but she had seen the true Eric on that day, the Eric that Godric had seen, loved and turned over a thousand years ago. She didn't think she'd ever be able to forget it._

Inky black swathed the sky on the night The War began. Really, it had begun that morning, when the Light of Day Institute performed Meet the Sun. In the latest hours of the night, just before dawn, Steve Newlin chained Godric to a crucifix. Godric, the regional sheriff and a beloved, 2000 year old vampire legend, had weakened as his skin burned away in the bright summer sun. He slowly disintegrated before the horrified, fascinated, fearful and joyful eyes of the L.O.D.I. congregation, his last words lost in fanatical screaming. That night, when his brethren could safely rouse, the killing began.

Sookie was in the basement with Hugo when they came for Godric. Dressed in their cleanest, crispest Sunday best, Gabe and Steve solemnly walked down the stairs to Godric's cell. Their faces seemed like grave masks of concentration, but she could hear and she knew. Gabe and Steve nearly vibrated from excitement. Today was their big "O", the pinnacle of all their meticulous planning. Today they would finally roast their bloodsucker. The cruelty in their thoughts twisted painfully through Sookie as images, horrific and violent even by her standards, battered against the edges of her mind. But she was prepared for violence and evil. What she was not prepared for, was to hear an all too familiar mind.

She was momentarily stunned into silence. Jason's face probably appeared solemn, if a little vacant, to anyone who didn't know him. But Sookie could see, or, more accurately, _hear_ the turmoil inside him. Maybe it was because they shared blood, but Jason's thoughts were always exceptionally clear to her. And right now, his thoughts were utterly at odds with each other. ~_All the signs keep tellin' me this is what God wants. Sarah said this is what God wants. Steve said it too. It must be the right thing… I just… somethin' don't feel right…~_

The honesty and confusion in that last sentiment brought her out of her stunned trance. She opened her mouth and screamed, "JASON! JASON!"

His eyes snapped up at the sound of her voice. His eyes scanned the basement, like he wasn't exactly sure what he was hearing. "Sookie?" his voice came out as an incredulous whisper.

"JASON! JASON!! I'M IN HERE! PLEASE HELP ME, GOD, I'M IN HERE!!" Sookie's hands and feet were chained, so smashed the metal on the ground. Hugo took her lead and started screaming too, smashing his chains and thrashing about. The door knob shook violently, and frustrated fists smashed against the solid wooden door.

"SOOKIE!?!? Open the fucking door, that's my goddamn sister!" _~Oh my God, Sookie, is that you, oh please don't let it be you, why would you be in here, oh God, Sookie, why- ~ _Jason's thoughts suddenly ceased. A key turned in the lock on the door. Blinding light streamed through the door. Someone unceremoniously dumped a limp body onto the floor.

"Stackhouse," a deep, disdainful voice intoned. "Such a waste." Then the door closed, enveloping them in complete darkness. The next thing she knew, the door opened again to reveal a tear-streaked and terrified Sarah Newlin.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered as she rushed to Sookie's side with a set of keys. _~Lord, please forgive me, please forgive me, Lord, I'm trying to make it right, Lord, please forgive, oh God, Jason, please be okay...~_ Her fumbling fingers found the right key and she released the manacles binding the two captives. Then she crawled to Jason's side, pulling his head into her lap. Sookie found the light switch and flipped it to reveal an unconscious Jason with a bleeding cranium. The room that had held them was completely empty save the chains hanging on the walls. Chains forged from pure silver. Dull yellow paint covered the cinderblock walls. The solid oak door remained ajar, revealing a vacant hallway.

Sarah had been wearing a white sweater over a canary yellow sleeveless blouse. She pulled it off and pressed it to the bleeding patch on the back of his head. "Oh, Jason, I'm so sorry, I had no idea, oh, Lord, please don't take him," violent sobs punctuated her plaintive plea. Sookie was dumbfounded. In the midst of the madness constantly surrounding them, Jason had, of course, found a female champion. He always did.

"What the hell is going on?" Sookie immediately demanded of Sarah. Sarah's bright blue eyes looked up from a flood of tears.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, "This was never what I meant to happen. Steve is performing _Meet the Sun_." She said the phrase as if that somehow explained everything. But even as Sookie prepared to ask what _Meet the Sun_ meant, Hugo gasped. She looked at him. _~Godric,~ _he thought. _~They're going to kill Godric. They can't. It'll mean-~_

"War," Sookie finished out loud for him.


	2. Chapter 2

"War," Sookie finished out loud for him. Hugo's thoughts immediately turned to Isabel. They ceased to form words. His mind just flickered at her, one violent nightmare after another as his imagination showed him all the ways Isabel could die in a war.

But Sookie didn't need Hugo's mind to understand what killing Godric would mean. "How? How are they going to kill him?"

"They're chaining him to a cross outside right now. When the sun rises-" Sarah stopped when she saw the horrified understanding in Sookie's eyes. Then Jason stirred. His eyes squinted against the light.

"Sookie? 'Sat you?" he mumbled.

"Jason, it's me. Are you okay?" she answered, quickly dropping to her knees beside Sarah. His eyes opened, and slowly focused.

"Sookie… what are you doin' here?" His speech gained some clarity.

"This was your church camp?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "But I- I don't think it's what I thought it was," he finished in a regretful tone. Sookie started to explain how she'd come to be in the basement, but she was interrupted by the sounds of an enormous cheering crowd. The more enthusiastic members of the Fellowship of the Sun had gathered to escort the vampire and entourage to the platform. Sookie grabbed Sarah's arm.

"We have to stop this. We have to stop this _now._ Where are they taking Godric?"

"To the platform. It's on the training field."

"We have to go. NOW." Sookie looked at Hugo, whose eyes screamed panic. He nodded silently.

"But how are you going to-"

"We have to get out of here!" Sookie angrily cut Sarah off. "We have to get to Bill and Isabel."

_Sookie warmed a bottle of True Blood in the microwave. The ceiling fan pulled cool, rain-scented air through the room. Tiny moths battered the screens on the windows. She didn't think she'd ever get over the sight of Eric sitting calmly at her kitchen table. Hell, she didn't think he'd ever have consented to drink True Blood. The beeping of the microwave shattered the near silence. She brought the now human-temperature bottle over to the table and took the seat opposite him. _

_"How's Fantasia?" Sookie asked, trying to break the silence._

_"Boring," Eric replied. He started at the bottle, slowly turning it with the tips of his fingers. "And empty." His eyes lever left the bottle. After all these months, she didn't know why he still visited. He never asked her to listen for him. He rarely spoke. She couldn't read his thoughts, but she knew he was still in deep mourning Godric, Bill and Pam. _

_"Why do you still do it?"_

_"Fangtasia?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"I don't know," Eric answered. "What else should I do?" His icy grey eyes seemed to bore into hers. She quickly averted her gaze, studying her cuticles. _

_"I don't know," she said. "Go somewhere else, meet new people, do something new."_

_"I'm a thousand years old. There IS nothing new." His eyes shifted back to the table as his brows furrowed. Something about his plaintive tone piqued her._

_"Is that all you've learned to do in your millennium, Eric Northman? Whine? Are you even listening to yourself? What happened to the fearless Viking warrior? All I ever here you say is that everything sucks!" Her cheeks flushed with anger. His face remained impassive- if her outburst surprised him, he showed no external signs. He just continued to watch her as if she were a barking Pekinese. Sookie slammed her fist on the table and stood up. Tears of frustration sprang into her eyes. _

_"Dang it, Eric, why do you come here? What do you want?" She walked out of the kitchen toward the front door. The floor creaked with every angry step. He stood and walked to her, lifting her chin to look into her eyes. _

_"You're right. Change is a good idea. I'd like to get out of the country for awhile. And I'd like you to come with me." Sookie's jaw dropped. _

_"Come with you? Come with you where? Why?" _

_"Anywhere. Anywhere you want to go. Because… you're the only one left whose company I can bear. And right now, I do not want for solitude." His eyes pleaded with hers. _

_"I… don't know what to say. I have a job, I can't just-" Sookie stalled._

_"Yes, you can just. Think it over." Before she could come up with anything else to say, he opened the door and vanished into the night._


	3. Chapter 3

Sookie and Hugo ran up the stairs, with Sarah and Jason trailing behind. Jason wobbled woozily on occasion, but otherwise managed to keep up.

"Jason," Sarah whispered. "How do you know her?" Her voice dripped with undisguised jealousy.

"Oh, Sookie's my sister," he whispered back.

"Oh," she said, sounding relieved. Then her forehead wrinkled. "But, didn't you say your sister was dating a-"

"Vampire," he finished.

"That's Bill, isn't it?" she asked, incredulous. "The Bill we've got to get to?"

"Yeah," he replied. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks. Jason halted, waiting for her. Conflicting emotions contorted her lovely face.

"But Jason," she began. "I thought- "

"No," he cut her off. "I'm going with my sister. You can come, or you can stay." His grey eyes stared into hers impassively.

"I- " Sarah's eyes filled with tears. "I just can't, Jason. I'm sorry. I'll leave here with you, but I won't go to those… those _things._" Her voice gained an uncharacteristic harshness as she spat out the last word.

"Fine," he snapped and grabbed her hand, pulling her after Sookie and Hugo. Darkness still hovered when the group reached Steve's Escalade. Sarah pulled keys out of her pocket. She started to hand them to Jason when she stopped.

"Jason- you really mean to go with them? You won't stay with me?" Sarah closed the distance between them with two gliding steps. "We could go, just us, wherever you want." She tilted her head and looked into his face with tear-streaked eyes. "God wants us to be together, I know it. If I didn't believe that, I never would have…"

Sookie watched Jason's face shift into an all too familiar mask of fear and awkward guilt. She'd seen that expression every time one of his conquests got… _too_ serious. She didn't need to listen to his thoughts to know what was on his mind. She'd seen the rest of the story all too many times. Sarah's bright blue eyes narrowed with sudden understanding.

"But you don't, do you Jason? You don't love me, do you?" she almost whispered, her hand flying to her mouth. "You don't even love God, not really. All you ever cared about was…" she trailed off, glaring first at Sookie, and then back at Jason. She gasped. "You _never _cared. You were a liar from the start! You were working for _them!"_ She delivered a vicious slap to his cheek. He shook his head, bringing a hand to his temple and shutting his eyes.

"Sarah, no, I never-"

"Never what? Never lied?" Her hysteria grew with every screeched syllable. "You tricked me, Jason Stackhouse, and you are going to Hell!" she screamed. Sarah stuffed the keys back in her pocket and ran back to the church, leaving the echoes of her sobs behind. Sookie went to place hand on Jason's shoulder. He gazed at her with teary, slightly vacant eyes.

"Sookie?" he asked plaintively.

"Yes?"

"Why is life so confusing?" His voice wavered.

"I wish I knew," she confessed. "We need to get back to the hotel."

_A damp evening breeze circulated with the ceiling fans, carrying the scents of hot wings and sizzling burgers. Clinking glasses and silverware punctuated the hum of the usual dinner crowd. Sookie's eyes scanned her tables, making sure no customer's drink went unfilled. Hoyt and Jessica shared a booth in the corner while Tara chatted with Lafayette behind the bar. Sheriff Andy Bellefleur occupied a booth by the door. He had gracefully accepted the promotion when Bud retired. He swirled iced tea in a glass while watching the other occupants of the restaurant. _

_"How's it goin, Sook?" Sam asked. She nearly jumped out of her skin._

_"Jesus, Sam!" She pressed her palm against her heart, feeling the accelerated pulse. "You just about scared me to death!"_

_"Sorry, sorry! Where were you?" He grinned at her._

_"I was just thinking about taking an extended vacation. I don't know how long." Sam frowned. _

_"An extended vacation?" he asked. "Why?"_

_"I don't know, Sam. Since Bill…" her voice quavered, and she steeled herself to say the words. "Since Bill died, I just haven't felt… whole… in anything. I think I just need to get away… from everything. And I don't know for how long." She stopped and looked at him, wondering if he believed her. He met her gaze and stared into her eyes for a time. Then he sighed._

_"Aw, Sookie, you know you'll always have a job here. Take your vacation, do what you need to do. Just heal, okay?" His eyebrows furrowed in concern. ~ _I bet she's going with a vampire. Probably the blond one. But staying around here isn't helping her at all. She's fading. Been fading. ~ _He nodded. _

_"When do you leave?" he asked._

_"I don't know," she replied. Her eyes watched the floor, unfocused. Later that night, she rolled down her driveway to find Eric Northman waiting patiently on her front porch._


	4. Chapter 4

"I wish I knew," she confessed. "We need to get back to the hotel."

They found their way to Hugo's car and back to the hotel in much less time than it had taken to get there in the first place. Eric met them in the lobby- apparently he had been keeping a close eye on the door.

"They have Godric," Sookie managed to gasp out. "He's in the basement." Eric was already gone.

When Isabel arrived at the hotel, she found utter chaos waiting for her. She heard the commotion from floors away, echoing down the elevator shaft. Sookie, Hugo, Hoyt and Jessica had gathered by the door adjoining the two bedrooms. Jessica was pounding furiously on Bill's door as Sookie and Hugo argued about what they were going to do about Bill's captor. Jason followed the argument from the edge of the bed. Hoyt watched Jessica steadily dent the door with her fists and silently kept his distance.

"Lorena, you will let Bill Compton out of that room!" Sookie exploded. Suddenly, Isabel understood. She pulled Jessica away from the door with her left hand, and then used that same hand to deliver a fist packed with centuries-old power to the center of the door. It flew inward and smashed against the far wall. Lorena looked up from where she had Bill pinned on the floor, and grinned.

"Why Isabel," she drawled. "How wonderful to see you."

"The Fellowship of the Sun has Godric in the basement of the church," Hugo blurted as he ran to Isabel's side. She gazed into his eyes for a moment, and then her gaze snapped back to Lorena.

"We do not have time for this. Godric's safety is top priority." Reluctantly, Lorena nodded and released Bill. He was on his feet and at Sookie's side in a heartbeat. He briefly wrapped his arms around her before holding her at arm's length, examining her. A small, relieved smile played at the edges of his lips.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

"I'm fine," she whispered back.

Isabel marshaled the troops- Stan, Lorena, Bill and, unexpectedly, Pam. Pam had arrived at the last second. Eric apparently had good reason to appreciate her loyalty. But Pam perceived the entire situation as an enormous inconvenience; but, the evil churchies had her maker. Dawn approached, so no time could be wasted. They immediately headed for the church. Sookie, Hugo and Jason were left in the hotel room with Hoyt and Jessica. Sookie paced the floor, her arms wrapped around herself.

"Sookie, sit down. There's nothing we can do." Hugo's fear was written plainly on his face.

"I just feel so helpless!" she exclaimed. "And Bill is going head-on into that den of militant psychotics."

"YOU feel helpless?" Jessica squeaked. "I'm a vampire and they left me behind!"

"It'll be okay," Hoyt met Hugo, Sookie and Jason's eyes in turn. His voice offered a soft reassurance as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. He nuzzled her hair with his chin.

"I just-" Sookie's eyes widened. She halted in place.

"The lock-in," she said. "All those people… they're going to die."

_Sookie parked her car and got out, walking slowly toward her front door and, consequently, Eric. Gravel crunched beneath her white canvas shoes. Her pulse quickened with every step. When she neared the porch, Eric stood up and stepped aside. She passed him and unlocked the door. He followed her into the house._

_"Surely you know by now that I will not hurt you," He said._

_"You've never threatened _me_," she replied, meeting his gaze. "Not yet, anyway." Eric's expression darkened. He remained silent while he walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of True Blood. Removing the cap, he stuck it in the microwave. The glower never left his face as he watched the bottle rotate on the revolving plate. When it was done, he pulled the bottle out and raised it to her, as if toasting to something. Then his face remade itself into a mask of polite interest._

_"Have you decided? Will we go?" Sookie sighed. She grabbed a half-finished bottle of merlot from the counter and poured herself a glass. As she put the bottle down, her eye caught the brand: Bella Sera. She tasted it, savoring the way the dry wine pulled at her tongue. The base of the glass clinked when she set it back on the counter. She turned to face him._

_"We will go." Sookie drained the glass as if to wash away the taste of the words she'd just uttered. Then she turned to face him, meeting his eyes evenly. "When?"_

_"Whenever you choose our destination," he replied._


	5. Chapter 5

"The lock-in," she said. "All those people… they're going to die." Sookie's heart sank as visions of a corpse-strewn church played on the backs of her eyelids. Her knees wobbled a little as she sank onto the bed next to Jason. His hand covered hers. They looked at each other.

"Sookie, I don't mean to make a bad situation worse, but the Newlins, they have a room in the basement that's full of guns. Lots of guns. They've been plannin' this for awhile." Jason removed his hand and placed it in his own lap, dropping his eyes.

Sookie pursed her lips. "I can't stand this. Just sitting here? We have to do something!" She stood up for emphasis and looked around. "We are going back to that church!"

Half an hour later, they piled out of the car onto the doorstep of doom. They expected to find the doors locked and some sort of guard. But someone had left the doors wide open revealing a darkened hallway. Nearly dead fluorescent bulbs occasionally flickered. The group crept through the quiet hall with Jason leading the way to the basement. On the way, they passed the massive wooden doors of the sanctuary. Every one of them stopped in their tracks when they heard the screams piercing the eerie silence. Sookie pressed her ear to the thick wooden door.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven," Steve Newlin's quavering voice recited. 'Hallowed be Thy name." He repeated the lines of the prayer, screaming every few syllables. Sookie pushed the door open. But once her eyes absorbed the scene before her, she dropped to her knees and vomited.

The sanctuary had been constructed almost entirely from wood. On the tour, it had glowed with warmth in the afternoon sun. Now it was cold. The night sky loomed through enormous, east-facing windows. Blood coated the pews. Random human body parts mixed with vampire sludge littered the seats and ground. At the head of the room, Steve Newlin squirmed on a cross. Wooden stakes pieced his arms, thrust between the bones to hold him in place. A third stake had been driven through both feet and into the base of the cross. Eric stood before him, arms crossed, every visible inch of skin caked in blood and gore. It even matted his hair, gluing it to his scalp. He slowly turned to face the newcomers.

His eyes gazed at them with a haunted expression. They saw but didn't recognize. He started toward them, but a blurred figure came from the right and blocked his path. It was Isabel. She took a step toward Eric.

"Stop," she said. "It's gone far enough. These are _ours._" Eric stopped. He turned around, and faced the fiend on the cross. He viciously clouted each stake with the palm of his hand, eliciting more screams from the preacher.

"Eric," Isabel tried again. "Eric, it's over. We have to go, dawn is coming. There's nothing left to be done here!" He paid her no heed. Instead, he slowly unbuttoned the shirt of the sobbing man in front of him. His whispers were audible, but not intelligible. Suddenly, his head hung and his shoulders heaved with sobs. Then he raised his head, looked to the sky and emitted a long, pain-filled scream. Veins bulged in his neck from the effort. Finally, balling his fists, he punched them straight through Reverend Steve Newlin's stomach. Blood spurted from the man's mouth, and he uttered a final gurgle before his eyes lost focus for the last time.

Eric pulled his hands out of Steve's gut, each hand grasping chunks of intestine. After squeezing them to a pulp, he dropped the bloody globs to the floor and raised his hands to his face. "They walked into a trap," he managed to say. "There were silver laden bombs and troops with stakes at the ready. It was… an execution," his voice faded on the last syllable as his face tightened.

Sookie regained her composure. "Where's Bill?" she asked. His eyes moved in her direction, but they did not focus on her. "Where's Bill," she repeated, a little more slowly. He shook his head. Her heart dropped to her stomach. "Where's Bill?" she asked a third time, her voice trembling.

"Dead."

_"Whenever you choose our destination," he replied._

_"Europe," she replied promptly. Eric's eyebrows rose. The corner of his mouth lifted in a shadow of a smile. _

_"So you've been giving this some thought, then. That's good. Anywhere in particular?" He took a seat at the kitchen table. _

_"Italy?" she asked. He nodded. _

_"A tour then. __I will make the travel arrangements. _You_ need to make sure your sleeping schedule is adjusted. We can leave tomorrow night."__ The ghost of a smile returned to his lips. __ Sookie nodded. _

_"Alright. I need to pack." She poured the rest of the bottle into the glass and drained it. _

_"And I have other things to do as well. I will be here shortly after sunset tomorrow. Be ready." Eric put the empty bottle of True Blood in the sink and silently let himself out the front door. Sookie sighed, closed her eyes and raised a hand to her forehead. _How do I get myself into these situations, _she asked herself. _

_She climbed the stairs to Gran's – _hers, _she mentally corrected herself – her room. She was grateful that Tara was staying at her mother's this evening. She hadn't discussed her plans with her best friend, and was worried about how the girl would react to Sookie "running off" with another vampire. Then again, given Tara's recent loss, she might understand better than she would have a year ago. _

_She pulled a large suitcase from under the bed. She'd never been to Europe before, and hadn't the slightest idea what to bring with her. So, she packed a little of everything. A couple of skirts, a couple of dresses, jeans, shorts, T-shirts and tank tops all found nice and neat places, folded next to each other. She filled a small bag with toiletries and another with makeup. She's heard of people carrying special wallets to discourage pick-pockets, but with Eric at her side, she doubted that pick-pockets would pose much of a threat. Finally, she zipped the suitcase and dragged it noisily downstairs, thudding loudly on each step, to sit next to the door. _

_The feeling of something forgotten nagged at the corners of Sookie's mind. While she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, she decided to call Tara at her mother's. She knew the two of them were trying to reconcile decades of horrid relations, so she was reluctant to disturb them, but she also knew that Tara would never forgive her if she left without a word. She picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number._

_"Hello?" Ms. Thornton's voice answered._

_"Hello, Ms. Thorton? This is Sookie Stackhouse speaking. Is Tara available please?" Sookie kept her voice sweet and polite by habit- habit formed by decades of calling that number and reaching a lunatic._

_"Of course she is, Sookie. Just a moment." Tara's mother's voice was warm and friendly. Sookie just hadn't gotten used to it. It would probably take a while. _

_"Hello?" Tara's voice came over the phone line._

_"Tara? It's Sookie. I have something to tell you." She related the bare bones of the past forty-eight hours to her friend. She expected Tara to shout or scold or something, but she seemed to understand. She did not, however, agree to Sookie's suggestion that she stay at her mother's._

_"Like hell, Sookie. I'm coming home." Surprisingly, Sookie felt relieved. Not twenty minutes later, she heard the door open and close._

_"Sookie?" Tara called. _

_"Up here," she responded. Tara came into the bedroom and sat on the bed, pulling her knees to her chin. Sookie sat on the bed and pulled her feet into a cross-legged position. Then she leaned over and laid her head on Tara's thigh. Strong fingers stroked her hair. _

_"Do you think this thing… this trip… will make things better?" Tara asked. She felt a hot tear drop onto her skin. Sookie's shoulders shook with barely repressed sobs. _

_"Oh God, Tara, I hope so. I think I need this. I see Bill in everything here. Gran too. And the things people are _still _thinking! It's appalling. At least with Eric, at least my mind can slow down. I'd give almost anything for real silence."_

_"I know that's right," Tara agreed. "I guess it must be hard to heal when people keep ripping the wounds open. You leave tomorrow night?" Sookie sat up and nodded, wiping her cheeks. _

_"You packed?" Another nod._

_"Did you remember socks and underwear?"_

_"Fudge, I knew I forgot something!" _


End file.
